FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Some guys have all the luck. Then
there are people like David L. Pierce who make their own.
Pierce, a senior finance major at the Sam M. Walton
College of Business, manufactured a bit of “luck” recently when – on his own
initiative – he submitted an op-ed piece to The
Wall Street Journal. No one was more surprised than he was when an editor
said the paper wanted to publish it.
“I emailed the WSJ opinion submission site and used a ‘trick’
by also sending it to one of the opinion editors,” Pierce said. “I was
initially rejected from the opinion submission email, but two days later the
editor contacted me with their edit, we discussed a few more changes, and they
published it two days later.
“No one suggested I try, and I only told one friend that I
was even submitting it because it was such a long shot.”
Pierce’s piece, “To My Fellow Job-Hunting College
Seniors,” (http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303730804579435040049720068?mg=id-wsj)
was published in the printed newspaper and online March 17. It was peppered
with advice from someone who had conducted his own successful job hunt. He is
going to work after graduation as an investment-banking analyst with Stephens
Inc. in Little Rock.
“With some of my free time this semester, I have reached
out to bright students in the Walton Finance Club. I met with them and taught
them what I wish people had taught me as an underclassman,” Pierce said. “After
meeting with a few students, I realized I was out of breath after two hours
from trying to say everything. So I decided to write all my thoughts down which
ended up being the rough draft of the article.”
What are some of the things that Pierce wanted to impart
to fellow college seniors? Here are a few quotes from the Journal article with his advice.
- “Never wear a black suit to an interview.”
- “LinkedIn. Get one.”
- “Make your Twitter and Instagram private. Oh,
and delete your Myspace if it still exists.”
- “Set up your voice mail like someone who has a
real job or deserves one.”
- “Once you accept a job offer, don’t talk about
your salary – you’ll either sound like you’re bragging or you’ll discover you
should have held out for more.”
- “If you’ve accepted an offer, do everything in
your power to help classmates find a job.”
Another piece of advice that Pierce has for job-hunting
students is to not wait for opportunity to find you.
“I see many students looking for one big opportunity to
fall into their lap or to meet that one super important networking contact,” he
said. “But from my experience, it is the student who takes advantage of the
opportunities that are so small that they’re nearly invisible who creates more
opportunities and momentum. Those are the ones who get a chance at the big
opportunities.
“That being said, I’ve tried to capitalize on any
opportunities that come my way of which the Walton College provides a lot. You
just have to get up and be ambitious and go out there and find them.”
Pierce has done just that since coming to Walton after
attending community college. He is vice president of the Finance Club at
Walton. The club has quadrupled its membership this year and has brought in the
chief financial officers of Walmart and Tyson Foods Inc. to talk with students.
He made the university’s chancellors list in fall 2013 and received several
scholarships, including the Alumni Association Current Student Scholarship, the
Tommy and Sylvia Boyer Endowed Scholarship and the Oaklawn Foundation
Scholarship.
Pierce said he intentionally stayed away from online
comments about his Journal article.
“I just let my friends read them and pass along anything important or
noteworthy,” he said.
“It is an
opinion piece, so people have other opinions, but it was in the top five ‘most
popular’ on the WSJ website for most
of the day, and I have found it very well received,” he said. He has been asked
about appearing on business-related TV shows, but none have fit into his school
schedule.
Pierce, who grew up in Hot Springs and graduated from Lake
Hamilton High, is focused on finishing up his senior year and beginning his new
job.
“Honestly, my career goals at this point are to get to my
job, keep my head down and work,” he said. “Beyond that, I couldn’t say
anything more than the vague and cliché answers.
“I’m going to create and take advantage of as many
opportunities as I can and see where they lead me. I have ideas, but my goal is
to be the best analyst I can be so that's what I have been trying to prepare
for.”
One way he has been preparing is with an internship with
Greenwood Gearhart Inc., a Fayetteville fee-only investment advisory firm. “My
principals, Dr. Mary Ann Greenwood and Brock Gearhart, as well as my colleagues
at Greenwood Gearhart Inc., have all taken on mentorship roles in their own
right and guided me through college and my job search,” Pierce said.
Although it was his first attempt at publication,
submitting to The Wall Street Journal
wasn’t a shot in the dark. Pierce looked at it as a matter of supply and
demand. A lot of students craved advice, and Pierce didn’t see a lot of outlets
offering applicable, unique advice on the topic. So he picked the Journal for its wide audience and
business readership.
“I’ve written a few formal letters during my job search
and a tribute to a friend who passed away, but never anything for publication
before,” he said. “My high school teacher sent me an email and said he gave me
an A-plus, so it might be time for me to retire while I’m ahead!”